Report Title:

Demonstration Program of Business Mentoring of Youth and Young Adults

Description:

Establishes a demonstration program of business mentoring for youth and young adults in career development and workplace and occupational skills. (SB1425 HD1)

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

1425

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

S.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

H.D. 1


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to business mentoring of youth and young adults.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Recent workforce and economic reports reveal that Hawaii's economy is creating few jobs and that the labor force is growing almost as slowly as the rate of new job creation. Non-agricultural wage and salary jobs in Hawaii increased to 551,350, a less than 1.16 per cent increase from 1992 to 2000. Workforce and economic analysts agree that this slow growth is a long-term trend stemming from the looming retirement of the baby boomer generation; i.e., those born between 1946 and 1964, and the lower numbers to replace them in the succeeding generation. Analysts have warned that the exit of boomers from the workforce is already impacting the workforce and may result in severe labor shortages, slow economic growth, and declining quality of life unless steps are taken to counter these effects.

This aging of the workforce, according to the United States census, will be more serious in Hawaii than in the nation as a whole due to Hawaii's higher proportion of older people with 29.9 per cent age 35-54, and the lower proportion of the younger population with 27.7 per cent age 15-34.

This lack of an adequate supply of labor can be detrimental to the State's economic expansion and diversification of new and high wage jobs. The availability of labor, especially knowledgeable and skilled workers, is the most important factor in attracting high wage, high skilled industries like technology and science-based companies to invest in workers and position themselves in Hawaii.

The legislature finds that the development of a business mentoring program would enable youth and young adults to develop the skills needed to succeed in the workplace. There are a number of successful business mentoring programs in existence, which could serve as resources for such a program. Among these are career academy business boards, Hawaii Tech Quest, and the Hawaiian Electric Company's Partnerships with Education.

The purpose of this Act is to establish a demonstration program of business mentoring to encourage employers to provide business mentoring to youth and young adults in career development and workplace and occupational skills.

SECTION 2. (a) There is established the demonstration program of business mentoring to be administratively placed within the Hawaii workforce development council. The purpose of the demonstration program is to assist young people between the ages of seventeen and twenty-five in developing career, workplace, and occupational skills.

(b) For each county, the workforce development council shall determine one business intermediary organization that will coordinate the business mentoring projects with its member companies. Examples of business intermediary organizations are chambers of commerce, economic development boards, and industry associations.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2003.